Archive for May, 2015

Why do people look for USA Proxy and VPN servers? Well there’s a variety of reasons and now many people use phrase , just to hide their identity online. Sometimes specifically for privacy reasons or often they simply need a US IP address to bypass internet blocks based on location.

For example if you are having a holiday in Turkey, don’t presume you can access all the same web sites that you do from the US.

Many sites particularly media sites restrict access to US visitors, blocking any IP addresses from outside the country. In addition you’ll also find that countries like Turkey heavily filter the internet too, often restricting sites like Twitter and Facebook to anyone inside the country.

So on the whole privacy and freedom – these are why many of us use either a US proxy or VPN everyday. So what’s the difference between these two technologies and which one should I use. Both perform basically the same function and can give you US IP addresses but in very different ways, which ultimately will define which is best for you.

Proxy Servers

A proxy is a computer that acts as an intermediary between you an the websites you visit. When you use a proxy, the traffic will appear to come from it’s IP address not yours. This is why people will use a US proxy to access US only resources, a UK proxy to access the BBC and so on.

The two main types of proxies are as follows:

HTTP proxies – designed to work for web pages i.e HTTP

Socks Proxies – no specific protocol, handles all traffic.

A few years ago, proxies were pretty much all you needed to access most sites and you could find free ones all over the internet. Nowadays though most media sites can detect and block the use of proxies and there are many security issues with them too. They can still work for a few sites, a proxy based in the UK will still allow you to access the majority of the BBC iPlayer application for example (need a VPN to download from the site though).

VPN Servers

VPN stands for Virtual Private Network and in some ways they perform a similar function to proxies. A VPN creates a secure, encrypted tunnel between your client and a host VPN server. This allows a new level of privacy as even your ISP cannot see what you do online other than your connected to a secure VPN server. The main advantages are that the VPN provides a much higher level of privacy masking pretty much everything you do online from everyone. They are more resource intensive though and quite costly to run and support, which is why you won’t find any free ones online.

The encryption layer does involve a slight overhead which can slow your connection down slightly. However the better ones like Identity Cloaker compress the data as it’s being transported so can actually slightly speed up your browsing through some VPN servers.

VPNs are much safer to use and if you have access to a VPN in the right country you should be able to access any restricted site. So to be clear you’ll need to use a US VPN or proxy for sites like ABC, HBO and Hulu, but a UK one for BBC, ITV and UK TV sites. Most of the major providers will provide a network of servers across the globe but you should check if you have a specific requirement.

Here’s my two recommendations – both offer full VPNs, fast servers and access to many different countries in the basic subscription. Although both supply software to connect, you can set up the VPNs manually on most other devices like tablets, smart phones and even routers.

IDC is definitely, primarily a security product but offers both proxy and VPN modes for accessing BBC Iplayer, Hulu and all media sites. They have loads of US proxy servers and even more UK based ones so if you want to watch the BBC Iplayer service then it’s probably your best option. They do have lots of servers in the France, Germany, Australia, Canada and throughout Europe as well though. They also don’t automatically renew your subscription either which I like.

OVP is another great little company, I like their connection software which is easy to use. Lots of US servers included in the standard subscription. They also have the widest selection of servers although perhaps many won’t use most of them. If you need a server in somewhere unusual they are most likely to have them. The support staff know their stuff and are very helpful.

UPDATE 08/2016

Netflix have implemented a new system for blocking VPNs and it’s worked very well. The vast majority of VPNs no longer work, however Identity Cloaker has updated their software to bypass the latest block. So if you want access to US Netflix, you should choose Identity Cloaker, if any other VPNs now work please post a comment.